DeltaX: The life of a Hunter
by Lock Ostire
Summary: Delta X is a hunter. His entire exsitance so far has been with them. Soon, his true past will be revealed and he will find something he unknowingly longs for.
1. Beginnings

Delta X: Beginnings

By: Delta X

All characters in this fic except Delta X and Sapphire are owned by Capcom, the other two are owned by me but I don't mind you using them, just tell me.

Let me explain Mega Man's history in this story, as I have twisted it to make the plot more interesting and logical than Capcom's original one. It all began in late 19XX with the battle network series were all the programs for the robots were created, Including X's and Zero's. Then in early 20XX Mega Man e.x.e. Lost his memory as he was being converted to Mega Man, hence, why he can't recognizes his brother, who became Dr. Light. Then in 206X The Robot Wars stop and things seem to slow down as the original Mega Man was converted into everybody's favorite reploid, Mega Man X. (That is if you don't count Zero or Axl.) So we now arrive at the time after the 6th maverick uprising, or the duel with Red Alert over the new reploid on the block, Axl. Shortly after, new advancements in reploid technology revolving around force metal and transformation tech from Giga city has ushered in a 'Reploid Renaissance' that has changed the world. The reploid engineer Dr. Gaudil, the creator of Cinnamon, and his new assistant, Dr. Ceil are at the head of this new era. What about the mav's you ask… well… you'll find that out. We now can truly begin the story now, as it opens up a few years after X8 in the year 2125 A.D at the hunter's headquarters.

The virus readings, suspicious movements, shady arms deals, missing reploids, and plain old instinct told Signas, the Supreme – Commander of the Maverick Hunters, that another war was about to break out. He knew that the hunters were caught unprepared before in major uprisings and he wasn't going to make that same mistake. The base was put on full alert, and the citizens were warned. Signas was at his desk staring at the Newton's cradle that sat on his desk, the never-ending monition of the balls drew Signas into a trance, (It is only a matter of time now… the war will begin and my leadership will be needed. All the training that they have gone though… was it enough? And will they cower when the casualties roll in? I hope, that by that great creator that lives in the unseen plane, we can win.)

It was all to soon when Alia came over on the intercom on his desk, " Signas, the mavericks have just appeared all over our sensors! We are deploying all of our units according to the plan."

"I will be down there immediately to oversee the operations." Signas got up from his desk and calmly proceeded to the main communications and strategy room. (It has begun… another war… another bloody war…)

When Signas arrived he saw X, Zero, and Axl ready to defend the base and the surrounding city area, "The 0th and 17th are deployed then for duty I assume."

Zero looked up, "Correct. My unit is patrolling the area while X's is in the base backing up the standard base defenses."

Signas looked over at Alia, " Is the medical wing on full alert?"

"Yes, do you want to communicate with Lifesavor?"

"No, he knows what to do."

A young operator with a 77 on her front armor contacted the group from her nearby position, "X! One of the maverick generals is challenging you to a one-on-one duel. If he sees anyone else he will launch a full assault on the city."

Nana was the only person from his Giga city mission to have transferred to the hunter base although the hunters had two additional main spotters, Layer and Pallet. Everyone else was busy trying to keep the resistance from losing more men from their battered ranks had already sustained. X walked over to the teleporting capsule, "Send me the coordinates Nana."

"Sending them now X." Before any other words could be muttered X was teleported to the location.

When X arrived he knew right off the bat that something was wrong. He double-checked the coordinates he was at and came to the horrible conclusion. The maverick had decided on having the duel in a neighborhood, "How could anyone stoop this low… I don't get it… not even sigma's generals go this low... unless it is him."

Then a familiar voice sounded form behind him, " I'm back… X! I told you I will haunt you till the end of your days! "

X's nerves stiffened, (I know that voice! It couldn't be… we just defeated him again.) X turned quickly and drew his buster, (OH SHIT!)

Right in front of him in a hawk ride armor was the demon of X's dreams, Vile, "X… I have waited for this day for the longest time for our one-on-one duel. Here's the challenge… I will wipe out this entire neighborhood while you try to stop me. And this time, there will be no Zero to help you. HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vile let out a insane laugh and started shooting missiles at the homes around him, but X was able to shoot them all down until he felt a net fall over him.

(Dam it! He must have used his electromagnetic net wile I wasn't looking, I can't believe I fell for that stupid damn trick again!)

As X looked up, he could almost see Vile smile though his helm, " Now X, here comes the best part… seeing the pain on your face as these worthless humans are killed." Vile pointed the twin launchers at the house in front of X and pulled the trigger. But, to the surprise of Vile, only one missile came out, "I thought I had one more… oh well. I've had enough fun with you today X."

X's face was full of rage born from his strong sense of honor and his natural feelings, " Vile! You son of a…Ugh!" X then broke out of the net and fired a level one-charge shot into the launcher that Vile suspected was empty. But the shot went in the launcher detonating the jammed rocket, ripping off the arm that was attached to.

"Until we meet again X!" Vile then teleported away, leaving the burning house and X all alone.

"Vile… I swear… I can never stop fighting with people like you around." X then picked something up on his biosensors. He knew that the house that was on fire had three bio signatures before. But now it had only one weak signature.

X ran into the burning house, but not before getting information on the family living their from standard computer mainframe that was mandatory in each house so police, firemen, medics, and hunters could get valuable information, he followed the signal up the stairs and down though the debris – filled hallway to a bedroom where he heard someone crying. He smashed down the door in front of him and found a baby boy severely wounded in his crib, " This is X to Lifesavor. Do you read me?"

"This is Lifesavor, I'll get a med team ready for you when you come back."

"No, this isn't for me. I have a injured civilian here, he was the only survivor of the attack… the human medics won't be able to come out here in time so I'm bringing him back now."

"Roger."

X picked up the newborn swiftly, but gently, and teleported to the med wing of the hunter base.

As soon as X arrived Lifesavor immediately looked at X, " Where is the human?"

X showed Lifesavor the baby and he immediately took it out of X's hands, "We'll take care of things here, you can go now. Send me the data regarding his family and house later."

"Just to let you know ahead of time, the only family he has, his parents… are both… " X knew that Lifesavor understood him and left for the base ramparts where his unit was holding down the fort.

Lifesavor however, headed for surgery room. But as soon as he got there he reanalyzed the situation, "No amount of surgery will help him. He'll fit in that old machine I've been tapering with… maybe it was designed for a human rather than a robot." He then went down another 7 doors to a room labeled 'Experimental treatments' and went in. He quickly set him in the chamber and sealed the glass tube that covered it. Then he went over to the control console were he typed the commands to activate the device. The tube filled with a green liquid and a probe attached it's self to the back of the baby's neck.

Later that day, X walked over to the medical wing and saw Lifesavor, But before he could even say hello Lifesavor grabbed X by the hand and started to drag him though out the halls of the medical hall, "What on earth is going on Lifesavor?"

"Something important… Signas, Zero, Alia, and Douglas are all in my personal office. This is a Top – Secret meeting. That I personally organized by dragging everyone into my office… literally"

"What on earth is so important that you had to drag everyone personally into your tiny office in the middle of nowhere while there is a war going on?"

"First off, the only reason it is small is because it is only meant for one or two people, not in armor, and secondly, it is in the middle of the med bay, not just nowhere."

They finally got to his office and Lifesavor shoved X in, resulting almost knocked everybody down in the tightly packed room. Alia then asked, "Alright Lifesavor… now tell us why you decided to drag all of us into your little office."

Lifesavor walked up to his desk…more like shoved… and sat down with all the implications that he was in charge, " Listen… about several weeks ago, I was taking care of some front line business with a few other reploids when my eye caught glimpse of what appeared to be a old hospital, so I felt a little adventurous, and curiosity took over me since I am interested in medical history, and decided to go inside. After analyzing a few details about the structure it appeared to be Pre 20XX in origin and was apparently involved with advanced medical research. This only heightened my sense of curiosity, I thought that there could be valuable information left on the computers that remained, but as explored deeper I found something even more interesting. It was a strange device buried in what appeared to be a high-level security zone of sorts. Anyhow, I brought it back and have been analyzing it with Douglas, but it was X who was able to help me make all the pieces fit just today. It turns out that the device is able to…"

Lifesavor stopped to catch his breath and to find the right word choices for what he was about to say, "The device is able to take a human's self awareness, or what they call a 'soul' and turn it into a program. This program is the equivalent of a reploid's DNA soul and to the person going though this procedure it would only be like having a out of body experience, except that instead of returning to their body, they would end up in a computer as a program. This program can then be used in the process of making a DNA soul and then implanted in a reploid body.

Everyone stood shocked… This was something that they never would expect, "So I guess you were able to take the boy I found and…"

" Yes X, I was able to save him. Now, here is my plan of action, as you all know, a DNA soul of a fully mature person takes about a year to develop, but the problem is with him is that the only maturing program that can work with his DNA soul can do only slightly more than 3 simulated years to one real year instead of a the normal 20-to-1 ratio. At this rate, he'll be about 16 and a half years old in 5 years."

Douglass spoke up, for the first time in this entire fic, with great enthusiasm as he has been ignored in many other fan-fictions and web comics, "Well, that will give us plenty of time to plan and build his body."

Alia looked puzzled, " What about his family? Did they approve of this?"

" I was able to do a background check on him, from the information X told me, and he is the only surviving member of his family. No relatives of any sorts and X confirmed in his report that both of his parents died."

The room was quiet. Partly because out of respect for the boy's parents and partly because they where thinking of how to handle the situation, Signas offered the first suggestion, " Well, we could just tell him the truth and help him."

Lifesavor countered that; " He won't remember almost anything about his past. That will only confuse him even more."

Zero then quickly came up with a cold- hearted solution, " Why don't we just leave him an alley before he wakes up?"

Everyone looked harshly at Z boy grinning, " Hey I'm just joking."

Alia came up with an idea, " Why don't we tell him that he had a severe case of amnesia, that should work."

Douglas shook his head, " But he won't know any thing about this world and common sense would tell anybody that degree of amnesia is rare and that it could only be caused by a near lethal blow and people wouldn't believe him since nothing in his records would show it."

X thought silently, (This is all my fault! If I could have protected him none of this would of happened. He is my responsibility… it is that simple.) "He is my responsibility… it's my fault that he ended up like this! Don't worry everybody… you all have jobs to attend to. I'll handle this."

Everybody didn't want X to have to take all the blame… although they knew that X was a good arguer and he would eventually get his way. They all left the room to let X think by himself, "Lifesavor… I have to think for a while on this. Can I come back later?"

"Go ahead X."

X then left the office and walked straight across the hall to a lounge where he sat down on a couch, "You know X, you don't always have to do this to yourself."

X looked to his right, " But Alia… he is in the situation he is in now because of my failure to protect him."

"X…" Alia shuffled closer to him, " You can't be perfect… please don't do this to yourself."

X thought silently for a moment then looked at Alia, " What shall I do with him?"

"How about treating him like he is one of us? He is important to you after all. And maybe we could convince him to join the hunters."

X thought it over for a few minutes, contrasting the pros and cons one the plan. He would be 17-ish when would be activated… which is young for a reploid. Axl is about 17, and Axl always complained that he was one of the youngest people on the base, He would have a friend at least." Alright… that seems like a good idea to me."

While X was telling Lifesavor about his plans, Zero walked up to Alia, " Alia, can I offer some advice?"

"Sure."

"Alia, have you ever thought about your feelings towards X?"

"No, why?"

"Alia… from what today was like, there are going to be many long and hard battles ahead. You might never get the chance to say what you want to that special person. Alia, I've known X for the longest time. He is very kind heated and caring. He is perfect for you."

"I'm not really sure… I don't view our relationship that way though. I'm afraid that if I start doing that it would compromise the my ability to effectively work with him."

"Alia… I think X would be better off if he knew that the person spotting for him actually cared for him. Look… X does not realize it, but he is suffering emotionally. Almost the entirety of his life was spent battling mavericks, and that's a big thing for X, who is the first reploid. He's tried of these battles… he's losing hope in his dream for peace slowly. He has Signas, Axl, Douglas, you, and me, as friends… but he's never experienced love. Just give a shot, I'll back you up if something goes wrong."

"You're right, I should try to talk to him." Alia then walked over to the elevator at the center of the floor she was on and pressed the button for the spotter rooms.

Mean while, X was having a conversation with Lifesavor, " Do you think the plan will work?"

"It seems reasonable, X."

"Well then I should be more or less headed for my room now. Bye." X headed to the elevators and stepped in and hit the button for the floor that contained the unit leader's rooms. But just before the doors shut, a blonde pony tailed figure dashed (literally) in and hit the button for the first floor, "X, Don't you think you should have something to eat? It's nearly eight at night and you haven't eaten a signal thing all day. I know that we don't have to eat a much as a human but still…"

X looked up at Zero and canceled his signal for his room, " Your right Zero. Its just that I have been thinking about him all day."

"Don't worry X, I'll help take care of him when the time arrives."

"Zero… I was thinking today about… never mind."

"About what?"

"About Alia… she has always been my friend. But I feel closer to her than any one else, even you. Whenever she is near me, or talking to me, I fell… safe and… clam, no matter the situation. I don't know what is wrong with me! She has been my spotter for the longest time and I haven't felt anything till now."

Zero smiled, he knew that they loved each other, and he just had to play the role of matchmaker, " X, I know what's wrong with you. All most your entire life has been spent destroying mavericks, training new recruits, being at peace conferences, and giving speeches all around the world. But there are two things you need to do after this revolt is over."

The two hunters got off at the first floor and both headed to the cafeteria, " Take care of Delta X and stop any more revolts."

" Delta X? That's what you named him?"

"Yah… he looks a lot like me, except smaller. He is also the first person to become a reploid, like I was the prototype for the reploids."

" I think that is appropriate but X, he is going be taken care by all of us so you don't need to worry about him. But, more importantly, you need to worry about yourself. X, You have been all over the world and yet you haven't experienced it yet. The four of us are going to go on a vacation after this war. It's going to be just Axl, You, myself, and one other person."

"Signas?"

"No, Someone else."

"Delta?"

"Our vacation will be long over before he wakes up."

"Massimo?"

Zero sighed, this was frustrating, "How about someone from the opposite gender?"

X thought hard, "Um… Cinnamon?"

Zero took his helmeted head and rammed it into the armored hallway of the hunter base. Axl then jumped out behind X with a big smile on his face, "Is Cinnamon going to come over? I cant wait to see her again, I wanted to ask her out on a date the last time she was over but Dr. Gaudil wouldn't let her!"

Zero looked back at Axl, " No, although we could use her to cure X's denseness, now go. Me and X have some personal issues to discuss."

X looked at Zero and a light bulb went of in his head as Axl walked away with dreams of the medic, " Alia?"

Zero spun around, " This brings me to my second point. X… I know that you love Alia, but why don't you admit it?"

" I don't know what you're talking about. Even if I did… I don't want to degrade our teamwork. She is my partner, and I don't want to cause her mixed feelings."

" Then why do you talk to her after missions, have coffee with her at lunch, and hang out with her at the movies? X, she does care about you. And you care about her… what's wrong?"

" Zero… I know I love her but if…someone overheard me saying that or talking to her in that way she would be bothered to no extent. I am looking out for her, Zero. I really want to tell her… but I don't want to course her any trouble."

Zero sighed, " X, I'm quite sure that it won't turn out that badly. And if anyone starts to bother her your presence would put an end to their pestering." Zero took his friend to his unit's bar and convinced him that a few drinks would ease his problems. Thankfully, X was able to return to his room sober, a difficulty considering that the Zero's unit had challenged X to a drinking contest, and everybody knew that the 00th unit had the craziest hunters in the entire hunter force.

As soon as he opened his door, he found one of his friends sitting on the couch, " Alia, what's the matter?"

She was wearing some casual clothes, an oddity since she almost always wore her uniform around the base. She then looked at X, " X, I… I want to talk about something personal between us… in privacy."

X mentally sent the armor he was wearing into one of the capsules that held his armors; he was also wearing casual clothes like he did all the time under his armor, " Alia." He then closed the door behind him and sat down next to her.

" X, I've known you ever since I was activated, I heard all about your battles with the mavericks and how kind you are to the people you know. X… at first I just wanted to meet you but as I rose up in rank I felt stronger and stronger feelings for you… X… I…" She put her head on his shoulder and X ran his hand though her hair.

" I feel the same way as well, you've spotted for me ever since the fourth revolt. I been constantly buried in my work ever since I joined the hunters, I've just been constantly working, no vacations, I hardly go out. I feel so lonely, even though I have all you guys as friends. Alia, after this revolt has ended I was thinking of going on a long vacation with Zero and Axl. I was wondering if maybe you could come along?"

" I would love that. Where would we go?"

" All over the world… we haven't decided on where exactly."

" I want like to go see the Hawaiian Islands."

" I personally want to go to France. I've never been their before… I heard that it is one of the countries that is least affected by mavericks."

"Paris, the city of love… that would be romantic."

As the two love birds talked about their plans for the vacation, a lone figure stood outside, " Iris… would you be happy to see them in love? I wanted X to realize his love for Alia before he loses her. X… Alia… I hope you have better luck."

(If you notice the amount of time between major uprisings is probably less than 4 years each, even stated as less between some, then it should still be in the early 21XX era if only 6 of them occurred since I am assuming that X was discovered in 2100 A.D.)

Author's note I hope that was better than my first post, thanks to and I refined it a bit so thanks to the both of you. Oh yeah, please review! The next chapter is, New people, new places. This is Delta X, jacking out.


	2. A New Life

Delta X: A New Life

By: Delta X

All characters in this fic except Delta X and Sapphire are owned by Capcom, the other two are owned by me but I don't mind you using them, just tell me.

No real Football players where injured in the writing of this fan-fic.

A lot happened after X and Alia confessed their love for each other. At first the Hunters were winning the war but things started to turn sour after the mavericks started to counter attack. The United Nations, who joined the fight on the hunter's side as always, had cleared legislation to restore Repliforce to full power along with reviving the brilliant Gate after re-opening the case and deciding that, after careful review, that with the Virus gone, and the leader of the Reploid research team that ordered the destruction of his creations in jail for those crimes. This meant reviving all the fallen Repliforce officers and soldiers who were unfairly condemned maverick a... Storm Owl… Jet Stingray… The Skiver… Cornel… and to Zero's utmost joy…Iris…the one person who was able to open Zero's heart. Needless to say, he was very happy that she was finally revived. It is rumored that he heard the news that she was just revived when training his troops, and when he was told, his men claimed that it was the only time they saw Zero cry and ask his unit to stop training with him. Shortly after that, the mavericks were finally stopped and the revolt was over with the help of the repliforce.

The real story, or really the life of, Delta X starts now.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 14th 2130 A.D.

All the people who were there for the meeting so long ago where here, including Iris who had heard from Zero Delta's story and was let in on the secret. Lifesavor looked towards the small crowd of reploids, "He is going become on-line now within the next 20 minutes or so."

X closed his eyes, " I may have not been able to protect you, nor I will be able to replace your parents, but I will do the best I can."

Signas looked sympathetically at X, " X, your doing every thing in your power to help him."

Zero made one of his sly remarks, " He much better off as a reploid… all the benefits of a human minus the part about being squishy and easily killed. He has more potential than an orphaned human, whose parents were killed by mav's, would have had."

Douglas smiled, partly because he was getting some more attention in this fic, and partly because of his masterpiece of Armour that he had created with Alia for Delta X; Since the mechanic had plenty of free time since X 7 and it was the only real project for him, " He was made with parts that most civilian reploids would crave for, and I made plenty of room for upgrades if he decides to join us as a hunter."

Alia added to that, "He should be able to get by pretty well if he decides to leave."

Iris looked over to Lifesavor, " How long until he wakes up?"

" In about 12 minuets."

" Everybody, I think it would be best if only one of us would stay with him, he would be confused and shocked if he was surrounded by people."

Lifesavor nodded, "Iris is right, she had only had Zero around when she was reactivated. We shouldn't startle him like that." Everyone agreed that Iris, who did not have anything to do that day, would stay by his side and show him around the base.

Delta X

_Main Os: Delta X………Uploading………Complete_

_Fusion core………Online_

_Cooling systems……… Online_

_Communication systems………Online_

_Memory Banks……… Online_

_Servomotors………Online_

_Auto-Repair………Standby_

_Tactile, thermal, and miscellaneous sensors………Online_

_Chemical Sensors……… Online_

_Audio and visual sensors………Online_

_All other systems………Online_

_Delta X……… All systems green_

_Lunching O.S. Delta X……… 100 complete_

ToDelta X the portion of his life before this was a quick blur that had quickly aged him for, although he could not understand why he felt like it aged him, (This fells so odd… yet familiar that I have a physical body. What am I? Where am I? Who am I? Wait, I am a reploid and my name is Delta X… How I do I know this? Maybe that blur that I experienced somehow gave that information to me.) As he opened his eyes, he saw someone with a red beret and long brown hair looking down at him, " Who are you?" He said with a groan

She smiled nicely at him and spoke a nice quiet voice that had a British accent, " My name is Iris Thorne. I'm glad that you're awake now."

Delta felt a jar in his memory, (She sounds like my… mother? I am a reploid, I don't have a mother or a father, but she feels like one to me… why?) Delta unintentionally muttered, "Mother?" wile he was thinking

" I'm sorry, but… I am not your mother."

" I know that, but something in my memory… never mind."

" Delta… don't worry, I will help get you up and on your feet."

"How did you know my name Ms. Thorne?"

Iris smiled back at him making feel warm inside, "You're so polite and formal for someone your age, but please just call me Iris. I know your name because I worked with your creators. How are you feeling Delta?"

Delta tried to sit up and succeeded after some mild difficulty, " Disoriented, what time is it?"

"About seven in the morning." She said after checking her internal clock.

Delta looked around the room he was in, " And I get the feeling I'm in a hospital of sorts, right."

" Your not to far off , you are in the hospital wing of the Maverick Hunter's main base."

Delta knew what the Maverick Hunters were… but did that mean he was created to fight with them, "Was I created to join the hunters?"

" If you wanted to, you could. Nobody is forcing you to though."

(Should I? They were the ones who created me… so I should probably join them to pay them back. I will decide later.) "Can I decide if I want to join later?"

"Of course! We don't want to rush you or anything."

"Thanks." Delta slowly got out of his capsule still unsteady with his movements, " I don't want to sound narcissistic, but where is the mirror? I don't even know what I look like."

Iris understood him… people should know at least what they look like. She led him over to the mirror and Delta was able to look at himself. He was about Iris's height, only a bit taller, so he fit the average range of humanoid reploid size. His amour was different from X's basic design, his entire body was covered with the amour, and his boots weren't huge club-like things, but a close fitting type of amour but still thick enough. His hands were also armored and very well articulated, unlike the white glove that protected the hand. (If you have trouble visualizing it, think of the Mega Man in the legends series. Delta wears the same style of amour as he does.) He liked the deep blue and gunmetal, a dark silvery color, coloration of his amour. His eyes were a rich blue, his hair was a nice shade of brown, and his skin was a only barely tanned but it was nowhere close to pale. (Wow… I like It.), "Iris… were is my helmet?"

"It's in your room. I have to show you around the base." She took him by the hand and showed him around the base.

Delta went in his room after saying good-bye to Iris, it was nearly barren, but he wasn't expecting much as he was a raw trainee. However, the room was on the officer's floor and was therefore larger and more privet than the barrack style that the E-G rank hunters got. Of course, they had homes to go to for their off-duty time and vacations unlike Delta. The room was laid out in said manner: There was a small living room in front of him that went to the back of the room and turned to the right, becoming larger, it was covered in a somewhat new dark gray carpet and only had a small T.V. on a short stand. The living room surrounded the kitchen on the close right, with it's brown tiles and bare cabinets it looked deserted to, however, the new refrigerator stood out, " Well, at lest they gave me a new clean fridge." Delta noticed the bathroom directly to his left with it's pale red coloration, the bathtub / shower being slightly larger than he expected. Next he looked at his bedroom in the back, his bed was a twin size and it looked old… but Delta didn't mind… he suspected that he would like the feel of it. It also had a closet and a dresser, not that he would need one now. Finally, he noticed the windows, they where sturdy – looking and were 3 and a half square feet in area. There were three of them evenly spaced out, one in the bedroom and two in the living room.

As Delta finished looking around the 20 by 30 yard room he said to him self, " Welcome home, Delta X."

It was about a week after he was activated and joined the hunters that he had developed a routine, Sunday though Friday was training with Zero and X starting at 5:00 AM after breakfast, which isn't bad for reploids since they don't need much sleep, until 7:00 AM and from 8:00 Am till 10:00 Am Then at 11:45 Am Delta haves his lunch and talks to his friend Axl. After lunch he would listen to X and Zero's lessons regarding tactics or would join them for a low risk mission. Then around 4:45 Pm after Delta was finished he would have dinner and would head to the library to read books about sailing or the adventures of pirates, he liked that kind of stuff and was somewhat knowledgeable in the area of nautical topics. Every now and then, about once every month, he would visit Axl, his best friend, and go shopping for stuff… usually for his barren room and wardrobe. Other times he would challenge Delta to a video game duel or challenge. Saturday was his day off despite the fact that he still trained from 8:00Am to 11:00 Am and took voluntary portal duty from 1:00 Pm to 4:30 Pm.

Zero and X noticed something odd with Delta… he was one of the younger recruits that year, but he attended both X's and Zero's lessons on Monday and most, if not all, the drill sessions that covered the lessons throughout the week and the extra practice sessions on Saturdays that were open for all the hunters. Hunters with ranks F and lower were expected to attend at least one lesson each week and three of the eight drill sessions each week, making Delta a sort of a over achiever. Zero once commented on Delta, " That kid is like a drill sergeant on himself… almost his entire life so far has been spent training. He's an odd person, but at the same time he reminds me of X and myself back when the hunters started… he sweets up a storm during practice and when I go over to him to see how he is doing he is just standing there waiting of orders ready to go at it again. I try my hardest to make the 'Cannon Fodder' under my control go though a 'boot camp from hell' but nothing seems to bother him… he is one strange person."

Soon afterwards as more and more recruits fell out of the program some of Zero's classes where only attended by Delta. Zero canceled the under attended classes and sent a report to Signas asking the few remaining students to attend X's classes. Signas agreed to this, and Zero was finally able to get back his free time, part of which was spent with Delta. He started to teach Delta some more advanced techniques, but he spent most of their free time teaching Delta the finer points in life… like how to play pool, falling in love, and getting drunk. X started to do the same with Delta after the program was over although he covered more refined areas like golf and philosophy. But it was Axl who thought Delta how to use energy pistols like he had and more importantly, the sacred art of video games… playing all the 'old' classic games like Halo, The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, and of course, in Axl's words, "The one game to rule them all…Final Fantasy 7."

Friday, April 16th 2131 A.D.

It is six months afterwards now and Delta had already gone up three ranks, of a grand total of 7 total possible ranks, and was waiting for a position in X's unit, he had served under X's officers and sometimes directly under X or Zero. Delta always paired up with Axl on missions, they were finally becoming 'war buddies' like X and Zero having seen plenty of action. It is Friday, at dusk. Delta is sitting on one of the beaches out side the base facing the ocean wearing some casual clothes.

(Why… Why do I feel as though something is missing? Why does it feel like that I've done nothing important?) He soon heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey Delta, do you want to go out to the boardwalk? It's just Iris and myself so far. "

"Not really." Delta said to Zero, who was also in casual clothing, in his melancholy voice. If Delta had acquired any negative attributes over the last six months it was that he became more and more detached form everybody slowly but surely. He was absorbed in his work and study of nautical knowledge and maverick hunting; it was the only real reason that he seemed to exist. Zero was the only person that understood what was going on inside Delta's head… Zero did the exact same thing when he joined the hunters… and it was Iris that made him more open and friendly as a person although he did not realize this until she was long dead. Delta needed an Iris of his own.

"Delta… your lonely… aren't you?" Delta looked down at the ground, silent, "Look, I did the same thing when I was a hunter, working my ass off and never enjoying life… except for the drinking and playing pranks, and it was Iris who made me open up. X has Alia, I have Iris… it's natural to love someone Delta."

"I know Zero."

"Well listen up Delta, you will not get a girlfriend on your first try. But you have to keep on trying. That's the first rule of dating. So Delta, if you screw up this time there will always be a next one."

Delta looked up at Zero; he wasn't surprised that Zero had figured out him so easily, "You are always right Zero… I am lonely, but I can't be a turtle all my life. I should at least try to find a girlfriend."

"That's the spirit Delta!" Zero said giving him a pat on the back, "Me and Iris are going on a 'romantic date' although it's just some corny movie as always."

"Um… Zero. Where would I find a girlfriend at the board walk?" Delta asked the sage of dating sheepishly.

Zero chuckled at this question, "Everywhere! In restaurants, shops, movie theaters, on the beach… everywhere."

"Oh…"

"Well come on! Iris will meet me at the theater. This is the perfect time to impart my knowledge of dating to you." Zero said with some subtle references in his tone.

"Zero… I'm not perverted like that."

"Well then what do you want to see in a girl then?" Zero said raising an eyebrow.

"I want a nice, sweet, calm girl who can cheer me up. She doesn't need to be rich or have certain attributes that a certain perverted hunter likes."

"I am happy with Iris. I have no complaints with her… equipment." Zero said making certain gestures

Delta sighed, Zero tended to be perverted at times, "Well… I would like a girl of average height and weight, nice long hair, and something special…"

"Something special?" Zero stared at Delta with a slightly confused look.

"Anything… something that sets them apart from everyone… it could be a habit, some odd ability… anything."

"And it can be assumed that you want someone your age? Right?"

"…Yes... "

"Well Delta, I think that I know were you can go to pick up a date."

Zero lead Delta over to a restaurant, over looking the sea, that was on the beach level to the boardwalk it's self, "Um Zero… what is this place exactly? It sounds like a party of some sorts is going on inside."

" It's a casual restaurant, mostly a hang out for teens, although it is intended for adults mainly. I think the local high school meat bags… I mean… football team is celebrating their recent win over some other team... don't ask… it isn't something I know a whole lot about. Be careful… I once heard that Human Teens are very hot-tempered and irrational"

"Into the fray… wish me luck Zero." Delta said as he walked into the bar.

Zero was right… although the place was big, it was full of jocks, bandies, preps, and the hordes of other people that attend the high school, expect for the rebels, who were bruning the school flag, and the geeks, who were having a major fourm war over who was the cutest video game girl." This place is a nut house… humans… I will never understand them at all."

Delta walked forward for a little bit and saw something, their was these three girls, two of them had blond hair and preppy looking attire, with their short skirts and all. But it was the third one that attracted Delta; She had slightly baggy pants that were a nice olive green color with an also slightly baggy brown t-shirt with nothing fancy on it. She also had this blue bucket hat on her head; the odd thing was that the brim was so wide that the hat nearly covered her face.

One of the girls turned to the other, "Hey Leona, I wonder what kind of sewer she crawled out of?"

The other prep turned to respond, " It must have been near a toxic waste center Scarlet."

" She smells like it to."

The poor girl who was at the center of the abuse just sat there, like she had gotten used to it, "I take a shower at least once every day."

Leona looked around as to gather support from her fellow comrades, " Oh, then it must be the cheep perfume."

As if by cue the people around her all yelled, " Shut down, she just owned you!"

The girl sitting at the table sank lower, " Just leave me alone… I don't want to fight… please."

Leona got in her face, "What is the baby going to do? Cry? You shouldn't be ashamed…" She turned and grabbed the nearest hand she could find, Delta X's, "What school do you go to?"

Delta tried to respond truthfully, "I don't go to school, I'm..."

"Too smart, see Sapphire, we have a genius here and he'll prove to you who's better. So who do find more attractive?"

" My intelligence would have no impact on who I find more attractive Miss Leona. And secondly, I'm a mavric-."

"Just tell us! I don't care if you are even a Maverick Hunter! Just tell us."

Delta looked over to Sapphire, "Well… I can't tell unless I can actually see her face."

As Sapphire slowly took off her hat, she stunned Delta with what she kept hidden under her hat. Her hair was a mixture of silver and blue strands of hair and her eyes had alternating bands of those same colors. But the most important thing was that under her left eye she had a scar that was about an inch long Delta saw that she didn't looked to happy being exposed like that, " Can I please put it back on?"

"Go right ahead, I've already made my decision… you are more attractive than Miss Leona."

Sapphire seemed to not move at all, but Leona and her 'cult' were not pleased at all but handled it in a mature fashion, "You jerk! Can't you tell that I'm the most bountiful lady around! We deserve the attention! Were perfect in every single way. You're a jerk!" It was truly a 'mature' way to handle the situation.

Delta sighed and started to walk away but he felt another pair of hands. But this time it was gentle, " Thank you… for cheering me up. I know that you probably wanted to have her for a date."

Delta started to laugh, " I mean it… she looks like a… never mind. I actually kina… um… can I sit down with you?"

Sapphire moved over in her corner both to allow Delta to enter, "What's your name?"

"Delta X."

"That's an odd sounding name…"

" Like I was trying to tell everyone, I am a D-Rank Maverick Hunter."

"Really? You look like your one of us."

"I'm a reploid. No humans under 18 are allowed to join the hunters."

" I've never met one in my entire life… well that isn't saying much since there are only a few living here."

"Hey, you haven't told me your name."

"I am Sapphire… I am a human despite the way my name sounds. I am a nobody unlike you…"

"Come on, their has to be something your good at."

"Well… I am a good singer and I can play the ocarina."

The two sat together, Delta looking at Sapphire's eyes, " I've never seen eyes like yours before… is it some kind of contact lens?"

She lowered her head for a minuet and came up with an explanation quickly, " No… it's my… I would rather discuss that in a more privet location," She looked back down, " I know that I'm a ugly freak… you don't have to stay."

" I actually like it… it makes you seem more peaceful looking and angelic."

She scooted over to him, " You really think so?"

"Absolutely sure."

" I… thank you Delta… nobody says anything like that to me. You know, I got this feeling that we will be very close to one another. Like it's going to go beyond simple friendship…"

" Sapphire… I think I'm getting that same feeling too…"

"Delta, I think that… it's time we headed out. I want to talk more."

" I'm up for that… any particular place in mind?"

" I was just thinking of walking along the beach… how about you?"

" Okay."

As the newly formed couple walked out, the preps were already thinking up a plan for their return, " They will pay… yes they will."

Sapphire let her hair blow freely in the wind as she carried her hat in her arms, " It feels good to let my hair just blow in the breeze."

"It looks good to that way too."

"Thanks."

" So um… want is you last name?"

"I don't have one, I am a orphan…"

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me that much. So how old are you?"

"I'm about six months old now."

Sapphire giggled, " I can't believe I'm dating someone much younger than me." She then calmly looked out towards the ocean, " Hey Delta, have you ever just stared at the ocean for a long amounts of time?"

"Occasionally." His eyes trailed to the ocean.

"Do you start to wonder?"

"About what?"

"Why were you born? Where are you headed? If you'll make it though life? What is life exactly about?"

"Not really… I start to wonder if I'll be still living next week… or if certain things matter anymore."

" That must be depressing… anything positive at all?"

Delta stopped and tried to remember anything positive, " Well… their was this one time that I saw the reflection of the full moon in the ocean," Delta started to slow the pace of his speech, " The ocean looked calm, like it was a mirror, and the reflection of the moon was perfect, the moonlight that was given off made everything shimmer."

"That must of have been nice." She closed her eyes to try to imagine what Delta saw.

The pair walked further down the beach in silence until Delta spoke up, "So what do in your free time?"

" I read occasionally… most of the time though I just walk around."

" Oh…"

" My family isn't rich. Most of the people that attend the school have families that are famous in some way or rich."

"That must be though."

"It is, but I've learned to deal with it."

After walking for a few minuets, the couple then approached Sapphire's house, "Hey Delta, this is my house. I guess that I will be seeing you later then."

"Alright, See ya on Sunday" Delta turned around and walked towards the base.

Sapphire entered here house, but soon came out again with a backpack, " Hey Delta, wait up."

Delta turned around and raised his brow, "What is it?"

"Delta, I wonder if I could stay over at your place for the weekend?"

"Um…Sapphire" Delta was half shocked, half curious as to what she said, "Did your parents said it was okay?"

"My parents are hardly ever home. It can get very lonely at my house since they are never at our house for very long."

Delta retuned to state of normalcy, "Well… I guess you can stay. I have enough room."

Her face brightened, "Thank you Delta." She smiled and held Delta's hand as she walked alongside him.

Delta was confused, "Sapphire, I just met you and you already trust me that much?"

"You wouldn't have said that if you where going to pull anything on me, and I know that hunters are trustworthy people. And… I just got this gut feeling that I can trust you. It is like this was meant to happen to us."

"That's interesting. Well, I can take tomorrow and Sunday off."

"Is their anything interesting at the base to see?"

"Other than X and Zero, not a whole lot… but that is from a Hunter's perspective."

"I bet Zero is easy to spot with all that hair."

"True… and his red armor stands out a lot."

After running out of topics they continued to walk to the base silently, but they were interrupted by a wall of big teenaged humans, " Are you the one who insulted the perfect-ness of the great Leona Clan!"

Delta cocked his head to the side, to a hunter, the wall of humans were just like the 'meat bags' that Zero claimed they were. But never the less, he tried to negotiate, "I did not mean to insult your group, but I was honest and true, I shall not retract my earlier statement. I regret that it was an insult to you."

The familiar voice was heard once again, It was Leona, "That won't do. You see… I can't let Sapphire get a boyfriend before I get one. You know… I know how WE could remedy this situation." She crawled over to Delta like a viper, "Why don't you be MY boyfriend you hottie."

Delta had faced bloodthirsty mavericks and the bloody mess of both human and reploid remains that they left behind, he faced the 'Boot Camp from hell' that was Zero's idea, and he had to endure Axl's ratings about Final Fantasy and how Aries shouldn't have been killed and all that. But this… somehow this was more terrifying than all of that, "Please… I'm not attracted to you like that!"

But she continued the assault "You know you are." Delta's eyebrow backed away in fear, if he had his armor on, he would have charged his buster and fired it at point blank range despite that it would make him a maverick.

Delta did the only thing he could think of, he established a radio contact with Zero, Zero! Where are you?

Delta? What no earth is going on?

Zero, how do I get rid of a girl that won't leave me alone and has an entire football team to obey her every whim?"

Delta… what in the hell did you do?

Well Zero, I walked into the restaurant and I saw these girls fighting. I said something apparently wrong and I got a cult on my tail right now. Apparently the high school people are divided into clans and tribes.

Delta, the best thing to do is run away… there is no use fighting them. Especially when women are involved.

Thanks.

Delta ended the conversation, but before he could run had remembered that unfortunately, he couldn't run without Sapphire, (Well, if I batter a hole in the human wall then we could run though it.)

Delta lunged into the closest exit and was able to force a hole open for Sapphire to escape, " Sapphire! Run!"

The human and reploid couple ran down the boardwalk to escape the horde of people following them. Eventually they did out-run their pursuers and were able to rest for a while before continuing on to the base, "That was a close call Delta."

" How can you out-run a football player like that? You did a pretty good job of keeping up with me considering that you are a human."

" That's what I have been doing ever since they started to harass me. I just run away from them…" She turned to Delta, " Do you think that I'm running away form my problems? I know that I can't fight them and that any other kind of resistance is bound to make them angry at me."

" I don't think that you are running away from your problems. Didn't that girl say that you got a boyfriend before she did?"

" I guess…"

"Sapphire, sometimes winning a battle isn't about destroying the opponent's forces. Many battles are won because the army was able to buy time for reinforcements, or maybe having the opposing army chase you constantly while they slowly waste their time and resources trying to catch you. Some battles are purely psychological and demoralizing the enemy wins the battle."

"Delta?"

" There are more than two ways to solve a problem. You are trying to remain hidden from them so they cannot find you and bother you. Look, if you charge straight at them you'll get beat up, and that's plain stupid. If you just give up that would be surrendering and that would be truly running away."

" It makes sense… in a way. It's just that I don't feel like am doing anything effective."

"Sapphire…" Delta would have finished that thought if not for the two familiar people in front of him.

" Hey Delta! We are heading back now." Exclaimed the blond hunter.

Sapphire looked at Iris and recognized her, " Hey, didn't you just write that book about Repliforce before the repliforce incident?"

"Yes." She looked at Zero and realized where this was headed.

Sapphire looked at the two, "So your Iris and Zero…"

Zero looked around with alarm and to his relief, no rabid fan girls attacked him, " Not so loud. If anyone knew that, I'd be attacked by rabid fans and that would be the end of my sanity."

Sapphire understood what the crimson hunter was saying, "True. Hey, Iris, I read your book and it was very interesting."

Iris smiled back, "Thank You." As the two girls talked Zero was looking at Sapphire making all sorts of 'Hm' and 'un-ha' sounds as though he was analyzing her.

" About as tall as you are, thin boned, light toned skin, but her 'equipment' is kinda on the small side." Delta sighed in response, "Okay, you are not into that. Her hair is odd… I've never thought that humans had hair color like that. She must dye it or something. Same deal with her eyes. She's odd… but good none the less."

" She wanted to stay over at my room at the base for the night, her parents are rarely home so she is able to do this without getting into trouble with them."

Zero smirked, "Thinking of putting the moves on her? Home field advantage, Eh?"

Delta Sighed "Not unless she does it to me."

Soon the foursome arrived at the base. After going though the main gate they went to their rooms, Zero and Iris in theirs and Delta and Sapphire in Delta's room. Sapphire soon slipped off her book bag and looked around. The room was the same one Delta had been given so long ago. However, major improvements had been made. The walls were freshly painted in a deep blue and the carpet and tiles were a dark metallic gray. The kitchen had a new stove / oven, a microwave, and a round table that had enough space for three chairs. The living room had a T.V. and a couch sitting directly across form it. On the far wall near the two windows sat Delta's desk and computer with a clock sitting on the right hand side. The bedroom had a twin bed, a dresser, a bookcase, and a wooden chest.

"You have a peaty nice room here Delta."

"It's a shame that I don't spend much of my time in here."

Sapphire placed her book bag by the couch and sat down, "So Delta, do you have anything in mind you want to talk about?"

Delta smiled " You said that you going to tell me about why your hair and eyes are both blue and silver colored."

Sapphire looked down and remained silent for a moment before she responded, " All right… but please believe me."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am thinking of writing a separate fic from the time Iris get revived to the time Delta meats Sapphire in order to provide more detail.

They never say where the hunter base is, or if there is more than one, but the interior of the base seems to change every game so I can assume that there are multiple bases around the world. Anyway, the main Hunter base in this fic is located somewhere on the coast of New Jersey.

Thank you Macross – Green for the advice, as you can see it helped with the revisions.


	3. A day at the HQ

Delta X: A day at the HQ.

By Delta X

All characters in this fic except Delta X and Sapphire are owned by Capcom, the other two are owned by me but I don't mind you using them, just tell m

Thunder Demon: Yes, I will do a prequel after the main story is done and I know that if I double the workload it could be disastrous.

Maverick Hunter Phoenix: I'll try, the first three chapters were written before I posted them so the 4th will take some time.

Erckie: I'm not really an artist, I'm more of a Engineer so I can only draw technical drawings. His amour design is essentially the same as Mega Man triggers' with the main body amour for his chest and torso less separated and closer together. As for coloration, the blue color is replaced by blue that's about 90 true blue, 5 black, and 5silver. The pale blue is replaced by 'Gun Metal' a dark silvery color that not as dark as graphite and more metallic. His eyes are a blend of brown and forest green and his hair is a very dark brown. As far as body shape and size, every thing is average except for height which is slightly above the norm. As far as the reference pic is concerned, I can't seem to get an address that doesn't take up the entire screen. But all you need is a picture of Mega Man form the legends series. Planet Mega Man has plenty of official works and what not and should be online when this chapter gets to be posted. Whew… was that enough?

Friday, April 16th 7:30 PM

Delta looked at Sapphire with a bit of concern, " I promise that I will believe that you will tell me the truth."

Sapphire took a deep breath, this was going to be hard to explain so she had to be blunt, " Delta, my hair and eyes are this way naturally… this was how I was born."

Delta was confused… very confused. Delta knew that some humans have blue eyes like hers and even fewer have naturally silver hair. But what confused him was the fact that they were mixed together. The facial expression he wore resembled that of a deer being cough in one's headlights, his eyes widening as his body remained motionless.

"Delta? Are you okay?" She looked at Delta with concern

Delta shook out of his daze and came too, "Sapphire… how is that possible?"

She looked down at the ground in front of her, " That's just the way it is."

Delta nodded, " Okay." There was a strange silence between the two before Delta spoke again, " So I guess that's why those two were bothering you."

Sapphire nodded, it was the only thing she needed to do for Delta to understand, " Don't worry about it Delta. It's nothing you need to worry about." Sapphire looked like she was about to cry.

Delta saw this and moved some stray strands of her hair away from her face, " Sapphire… if you want to talk to me about it I wouldn't mind."

" Delta… have you ever felt lonely?"

" At times…"

" I have no friends and my only family is constantly away. It feels like it's just me vs. the world. Nobody to back me up or support me. I feel so defenseless when large groups start to make demands of me. No matter where I turn I'm rejected, even groups that look caring on the outside reject me. But you haven't, Delta. I haven't been this happy in a long time. Thank you." Sapphire smiled at Delta.

Delta could understand her feelings and he sensed that Sapphire was being truthful with him, " I'm happy too. I have been having some problems of my own."

" Like my problem?"

"No… different. You see… ever since I was born I have been training to be a hunter. Rarely have I ever gone out to shop or enjoy myself. I feel detached and separate from the world… it's hard to explain."

"I'll try to understand."

" It's like everyone is living a world of color while I can only see black and white. Sapphire…I…feel like… it just that… I've killed so many mavericks, but I feel no regret for them. Nothing makes me smile or laugh anymore like I used to. I feel that all that's left of me is a shell that follows orders. It isn't horrendously bad yet, but if it continues for long enough " Sapphire took Delta's left hand and turned his palm up, and then she started to trace circles on it with her index finger, "Sapphire?"

" It's a self calming technique that I use to relax myself." She breathed in and out, "Delta… do you feel better when I am around."

"Yes."

" That's good. "

After a few minuets Delta spoke up, " So um… how long do you do this."

"Do what?"

" Trace circles in your hand."

Sapphire just realized that she had been doing her self-calming technique on Delta's hand non-stop for the last minute, " Eep!" She immediately removed her hand.

"I liked that."

"Really?"

" I've never felt anything like that before. I was like my entire hand was filled with… a calming energy of some sort."

" I get the same feeling too."

It was quite some time before they talked again; Sapphire noted that it was getting late, " Hey Delta, what time is it?"

Delta checked his internal clock, " It's 8:16 pm."

"It's too early to go to sleep, hey Delta, if you could be any animal what one would you be?"

Delta, confused as to where this was going, went along, " I would want to be a… stingray."

Now it's was Sapphire's turn to be confused, after all, not many people say they would like to a stingray, "Why a stingray?"

"Because they are at home in the water. The way they glide along, how they move them selves. It as though they where meant to be in the water."

"I would want to be a cat, they are all fury and warm and the can jump really high."

"It's funny that our two animals don't mix… cats hate water and stingrays aren't fuzzy."

Sapphire giggled, " That is funny… opposites do attract."

Yet again the couple was surrounded by an air of silence before Sapphire broke the silence, " Hey Delta, I brought my ocarina."

Delta perked up, " Can I see it?"

"Sure." Sapphire reached for her backpack and brought out a potato shaped instrument that was painted blue with three golden triangles along the mouthpiece that stuck out, interestingly, it looked like it was made of baked clay, a material not commonly used in 21XX. Delta never saw a real one in his life but was able to recognize it.

"Hey, isn't that the ocarina of time from that legend of Zelda game?" Delta thanked his buddy, Axl, for teaching him about Zelda.

"It is. How did you know?"

"My friend Axl plays a lot of old video games. He taught me a lot about video games."

" My grand mother was a big fan of that game. When she was a little girl when it came out on a collection CD of old Zelda games. She gave it to me latter and then thought me how to play it."

" What songs do you know how to play?"

" A lot of different ones. Some of them are from video games and others are my own creations. "

"How many did you create by your self?"

" Nine."

"That's a lot for one person to remember."

" It isn't that bad actually. It's actually easy for me to remember."

Delta thought for a second, if she made the song then she should remember it so it wouldn't be out of the question for her to remember nine of them, "That's interesting."

Sapphire changed the topic, " So Delta, where am I going to sleep?"

Delta stopped for a minuet, he never had guests over before so he never had the need for a extra bed or at least a couch that turned into a bed, " On the couch."

"And Yourself?"

" In front of the couch. Hey, are you tired already?"

"I want to get an early start tomorrow."

Delta got off the couch, " What time do you get up?"

Casually, she said, " About five in the morning."

Delta turned around, " Five in the morning? Why so early?"

" I have to get up and walk to school, I can't take a bus since the district can't 'afford' to send one to our area"

" How far is it?"

"A mile away."

"It could be worse…"

"True…"

" But that doesn't give them the right to do so, if it is a rich district, then they should be able send one."

"I'm not naïve Delta. I know that they don't want to spend the money on me since I am a non-athlete or anybody important."

Delta smiled, " I know, and that's one reason I like you… that you know what really going on and are not some air headed person who can't understand what's going on."

"It's though…"

"Be strong and you will win the battle, that's what Zero used to say to me during training." Delta went into his bedroom to grab his pillow and blankets. Delta soon returned with a pillow and a blanket for each of them.

Since Delta was on the ground now in front of the couch Sapphire could see his brown hair, it was thick and messy, but wearing a helmet all day did make you hair hard to manage, "Delta… promise me that you'll stay my friend… I feel stronger when you are around."

"I promise, and Sapphire, I feel happy with you around."

Sapphire blushed, "Thank you."

" I don't care what the rest of the world says about you, you are beautiful. Your blue and silver hair and eyes are so… enchanting."

"Delta…"

" Good night Sapphire."

"Delta, do you sleep with the lights on?"

"Oh… didn't think about that."

Delta got up and turned off the lights and came back, "Good night."

"Good night… Delta."

A moment latter she heard him snoring, (He's so cute when he sleeps.) she then slowly fell asleep on his couch.

Saturday April 17th, 5:40 A.M.

Sapphire woke up on the couch and yawned, (All right, now what are Delta and I going to do today?) she looked down at the reploid, (It's so hard to believe that he is made of metal… he looks and acts so much like a human it's hard to tell that he is a reploid.) Sapphire smiled as Delta started to toss and turn. She reached down with her right hand and tapped his forehead, " Wake up Delta."

Delta groaned as he woke up, "Sapphire… what is it?"

"Time to wake up."

" I guess…" Delta slowly stood up, " Let me change, I'll be right back."

After Delta came back with his fresh new gray pants and blue shirt he looked around for his guest, however, Delta could not find her, " Sapphire, where are you?"

"Right here Delta." She came out of the bathroom with a long blue skirt and a gray shirt, "So do you have any ideas for today?"

"Well… I thought that we could see the sunrise on the observation deck on the roof of this floor."

"It must be beautiful…"

" It is."

"Come on let's go."

After they got their jackets and shoes on Delta took her hand and led her around the many hallways until they got to the stairs that led to the roof of the 14th floor. When they got their, it was still dark out, but it was slowly getting lighter, "Hey Sapphire, we just made it."

After a few minuets the sky started to change colors, to, then to, and finally to, " Delta, it's so beautiful."

Delta looked back at sapphire, her silver hair reflected the sunlight perfectly and once again the wind played with her hair. Delta noticed that she was happy, just looking out at the sun rising above the ocean, "And you are too."

" Delta, you sure know when to say the right stuff. You know, you're cute, kind, and interesting."

" Interesting? "

" For someone so young, you are very knowledgeable, and open. That's something that you don't find in many people."

After a bit of silence Sapphire spoke up, "Do reploids have dreams like we do when we sleep?"

" Sometimes… But most of the time we just enter cyber space. That way we can use programs."

Sapphire became interested, "What kind of programs?"

" Word processor, internet uplink, Data sheets, Anti-Virus. Any kind of program really."

" That must be neat."

After a while Sapphire looked over to Delta, " Hey Delta, is their anywhere to eat here?"

"Of course. Come on, I'll show you." The two went down the stairs and to the elevators where Delta pressed the button for the first floor and waited for the elevator to stop. After they got off they headed to the back of the base to where the Cafeteria was located.

Delta came to the entrance of the cafeteria and noticed the sign in front of the cafeteria…

Saturday breakfast Menu

Hash Browns

Scrambled Eggs

Pancakes

Doughnuts

Sausage

Bacon

Ham

Today's Special Saturday Chef and Meal

Douglas and his Mechanic team

Breakfast Soup

Delta immediately remembered what day it was, " Hey sapphire you're in for a surprise today. Every Saturday we have a unit or support team make us breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Last week we had the head commanders cook for us, needless to say, Signas' Sausage Slushy Surprise from last week was very interesting."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow, "Delta… did you really try it?"

Delta then started to walk in to the cafeteria, "I did… it was… unique… to say the least. Took a while to get rid of the after taste. But when Zero cooks it is nearly twice as bad. When he cooks things they tend to be burnt, mangled, and in no way or shape even resemble what it was originally." Then they both entered the Cafeteria.

The Cafeteria was a large dome shaped room; the upper portion was made of glass while the bottom was a repeating pattern of large windows and plaster walls. The windows showed a large garden courtyard behind the main base and. In the center of the room was the main kitchen, next, a ring of tables and chairs surrounded the main kitchen, then, a walkway surrounding the tables, Lastly, Each hunting or major support unit had a triangular section of wall that they can use for what ever they want. While most units have bars, a few don't, like the 17th's little joint. Overall they serve food that the unit likes. And the greatest part of all this is that it is free.

Sapphire looked around at the sight, "Wow… this is incredible Delta."

Then an Ostrich-like reploid came over to the pair, " Delta! There you are… Zero has been looking for you all morning."

Delta noticed the said reploid, "Overdrive, where is Zero, and why is he looking for me?"

" He wanted to see how you were getting along with your girl friend. As for where, he's at my bar doing his normal morning routine."

Sapphire turned to Delta, "So he really cares about you, Delta."

" He's kind of like a father to me."

Overdrive started to walk towards his bar, "Come on Delta, Zero is waiting." Delta and Sapphire soon followed behind him to his bar.

When they arrived at the entrance, Delta and Sapphire both looked inside, to see a checkerboard tile floor, F-1 racers, stockcar, and dragster models everywhere, sponsor stickers and posters where all over the walls, and the drink dispensers where modified gas pumps. Delta walked to the bar with Overdrive leading the way and Sapphire quietly flowing behind them.

When they got to the bar they found Zero drinking his usual dose of his elixir, so Iris was keeping a close eye on him so he didn't over do it and start a fight like he normally does when she's not around. As they approached, Iris greeted the trio that arrived, she noticed that the girl that was with Delta last night came with him. As for Zero… just like humans can't start a day of work without coffee, neither can he start his day without beer, and until he has it, he isn't really awake, " Hello Delta, Zero is drinking his normal stuff."

"Iris, did you try the special food item for today?"

"Yes, it was relatively good considering last week's failure…" Iris shivered at the memory, "That almost sent the entire base to the med wing. Thankfully, people stopped drinking that before every one got sick."

"Signas' Sausage Slurpie surprise… what was the man thinking?"

"Delta?" Sapphire asked, "Do you have to pay for the food here?"

"No, it comes with the contract. Free food and rooms…along with no taxes."

"That's a good deal."

"It truly is. Well, let's get our food, we know were we can find Zero now."

Meanwhile in the 17th's 'tea room', as it was so dubbed by its members, Signas, Lifesaver, Alia, and X sat at a table drinking their favorite beverage… tea. Signas put down his tea and looked at the reploid ensemble, "You know, we are going to start the Hunter Navy program tomorrow."

X looked up, "So we are finally going to start that program."

Signas looked at life savor and the medical reploid answered his question, " All scans of the officers read negative for any scans of the virus. But still, I don't like this idea. They could go maverick again."

"They are not going to go maverick Lifesavor."

Alia smiled, " Hey Signas, are there any people in the Navy that are not zombies?"

" That would be left up to the head of the Navy, Duff McWallen. I actually recommended Delta for a low- level position as a captain of one of the smaller ships."

X decided to bring up something important, " Signas, he's already going to command his own ship… he's already half a year old… he is a D- Rank hunter. Don't you think it's time we told him about his past."

The black-clad leader of the hunters froze, he never thought about that, " Maybe… it's as good as a time as any. He's mature enough to handle it now. X… since you're his 'father' I will leave it up to you on how to tell him."

Lifesavor, who was stunned from when X proposed the idea, immediately came to, "We can't do it! It's too risky." All the other people at the table turned to look at him, " There is something I have to tell all of you. When Delta went for his medical exam he passed the physical section of it. However, there is a problem with his mental state. He is…"

While Lifesavor was just about to spoil the plot for the next chapter or so, Delta and Sapphire proceeded to the center of the room where Douglas was cooking. When they got there, they saw the short green mechanic shouting commands to his small army of mechanics. At first sight everything seemed normal, but it was when the got closer did they see the true horror. The pancakes were being fried, the eggs, with their shells still intact, were baked, and alas that was only the start. The doughnuts were being grilled with the ham, while the sausage, hash browns, and, bacon was being boiled. Overall, it looked like it was headed for disaster.

Douglas looked over and saw Delta, " Hey Delta! Brought a friend with you today I see."

Delta called back, " Yup, she's Sapphire."

"Hello Douglas."

Douglas smiled back at Sapphire then turned to Delta, "So are you going to try my food?" his arms stretched out to the buffet table in front of him. We used reverse-engineering techniques, video recordings, and this book." He held up a book called 'cooking for dummies', " I just hope we are doing things right…"

Delta got a plate, as did Sapphire. He carefully looked at the food in front of him as he took some of the sausage and bacon that was in front of him but he didn't take any fruit unlike sapphire, who took a banana. When he got to the soup, he was happily pleased, for the soup smelled good and looked edible. After he got his soup, Sapphire and Delta went over to where Zero was and sat down to eat.

After Delta ate his breakfast, he looked at Sapphire, who had just finished her food, " So what do you want to do now?"

Sapphire smiled, "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the park today."

"That is good idea as any." Delta sighed, "I have absolutely no idea what to do on a date."

"I'm sure that you'll come with some good ideas someday. Come on," She picked up her tray, "Let's get going."

After they dropped their trays off at the tray drop-off they headed outside the base where it was a nice 64o degrees outside with a few puffy clouds outside. Sapphire stretched her hands above her head as Delta smiled mentally (My life feels so much better now with her.)

Sapphire stretched hear arms above her head, "Come on Delta, it's beautiful today."

Delta shook himself out of his daydream, " It is, so lets make the best of it." Delta walked to the entrance with Sapphire behind him. When they exited the Maverick Hunter base Sapphire lead Delta down to the boardwalk were they were last night. They walked across the entire length of boardwalk, which ended shortly after Sapphire's house, and came upon the entrance to the park. It was a public park so they didn't have to pay an entrance fee and where able to walk right in.

"The flowers are so beautiful today, aren't they Delta?" Sapphire looked over to Delta, smiling. The flowers that she were indicated had blue pedals and where attached to a short plant.

"I've never seen flowers like these before, are they a custom breed?"

"Yep, the are a cross between two types of flowers."

Delta looked around, "Hey Sapphire, is there anyplace in this park were we can be… alone?" They both turned a shade of red.

"Well Delta, there is a place like that near here, but it is outside the park on the other end."

"Ok." Delta then started to walk to the other side of the park.

"Delta…"

"Yes Sapphire."

"Can we take a detour?"

"Sure, it's not like we have to be anywhere right now."

Sapphire led Delta to a hill that was crowned with a lone, large, and healthy tree. When Delta got to the top of the hill he looked around. To the north was the H.Q. in plain sight. Then between that and his location was a shallow body of water that was surrounded by sandy beaches. Then the hill sloped downward to the beach that was in the park. Then the shoreline jutted out to the sea sharply, then came back gradually and continued down south.

Sapphire jumped in front of Delta, " Do you like the view here?"

Delta smiled, "It's great. Maybe we can have a picnic here during the summer."

" Ok, then let's do it sometime then after I get out of school."

As they walked down the hill Delta saw someone familiar, "Hey is that who I think he is?"

Sapphire was very confused, "Who?"

"Him." Delta pointed to a teenaged male with a short, crimson, mane that had an X- shaped scar on his forehead. He was wearing black pants and a worn out red alert- tee shirt, "Hey Axl!"

Axl turned to Delta, " Delta! I've been looking everywhere for you. Where were you this morning?"

"Eating Breakfast with Sapphire."

"Oh, I should have figured that one out. Well Sapphire, I'm Axl, the third SA-Rank hunter."

Delta sighed, " They only made you SA-Rank because of your chameleon chip and the fact that you would only obey orders from Zero."

Axl whipped back, " Hey! That's not true! The reason why I'm a SA rank hunter is because I'm the best mercenary Hunter there is."

Delta laughed, and Axl calmed down, " I know that, after all, you're the one who first joined them. Heck, you can say you're their founder."

Sapphire was obviously confused, " What's a mercenary Hunter?"

Axl lit up, like he needed to proclaim it to the world, " A mercenary Hunter is a maverick hunter who instead of working in a unit works by himself, of course they could work with other mercenaries and units in missions but they tend to go it solo on most assignments. You have to be a class D rank or have a good resume to join. The downsides are that you have to supply your own equipment and that your only are paid for doing missions so during times of inactivity we tend to fight over assignments, even in some cases assignments like cleaning the restrooms."

"Oh, I never knew that they existed."

Axl lowered his head and sighed, "Well… um… yea. We were just formed so…yea." But then Axl raised a triumphal fist, looking up at the sky, " But we will be known someday!"

Delta sweat dropped, " I am quite sure that one day you will."

Axl started to walk away, " Well Delta, I don't want to ruin your date. See you later."

As the youthful hunter walked away, Sapphire turned to Delta, " How long have you been friends?"

Delta looked up at the sky, " Ever since I was activated."

" It must be nice to have friends like that."

Delta remembered that he was her first friend, "Sapphire…"

Sapphire smiled, "Delta… thanks for being my friend."

Delta blushed, " You're welcome Sapphi-chan. "

Sapphire started to walk again, this time to the exit of the park, "Sapphi-chan?"

"It's a nickname I came up with."

"I like it, it's sounds cute"

"So where are we going exactly?"

"It's a beach. It's very quiet there."

As the two finally approached the boarder of the park, Sapphire stopped and turned to Delta, "Delta, can you keep this place a secret? I really only want it to be a place for ourselves so we can be in peace."

Delta nodded, "Sure. You found it so it's yours."

Sapphire continued walking, "Thanks… Delta."

The pair then exited the park, crossed the street, and then walked up a sand dune and back down the other side. After they reached the other side, they then took a right turn and walked up the coast to small peninsula, "Delta, we're here." Delta looked around, the stretch of land they were on was indeed a peninsula and they were on the tip of it. The beach in front of him was overall short, but big enough for two people to be in peace. The sand that rose from the ocean lasted for a few yards before it turned into a flat, river rock type of stone that was between the sand and the forest that was part of the forest in the park.

Sapphire walked up to Delta, "You like this place uh?" She smiled at him.

Delta looked at her face, this was one of the few times he saw her smile, and when she did, he felt confused. (I feel… warm? No, happy? More than that… I don't know.).

"Delta? Are you alright?" Sapphire looked at Delta with concern.

"What?"

"Just now you began to zone out… are you okay?"

Delta began to walk towards the large flat stone and sat down on it. Sapphire walked over to him, "Delta, is something wrong?"

Delta frowned, but said nothing "Sapphire…" Delta sighed, and then struggled to continue, " When you just smiled it made me feel warm inside… Sapphire… I don't really understand what I'm feeling."

"Delta, do you feel better when I do this." She than sat right next to him and put her head on his shoulder.

"Yes."

" Delta, I think that you…love…me."

"Sapphire," Delta brought his head down next to her, "Do you…love me…too?"

"Yes."

Delta brought his head back up, "I've never felt this way before… I've never felt this kind of happiness before in my life. Sapphire, I'm glad we meat."

"Me too…" Sapphire lifted her head.

"Sapphire, there is something I want to tell you… I've felt love once before."

"Where?"

" It's a dream I have every so often… I'm really small, like the size of a baby, and I'm in this crib. Then I look up and see this woman smiling down on me… she looks a lot like Iris… and then she say's I'm her son and that's it."

"Delta, could it be a glitch or virus."

I have scanned my systems numerous times, but noting shows up… it's like it was meant to be in their from the beginning…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh the Drama, the Irony. Thanks for all the reviews. Remember: Reviews and such motovaite me.


End file.
